Floors, walls, counter tops, and bathroom installations are often covered with a protective matrix of tiles, such as ceramic tiles. Often such tile-covered surfaces include a subset of decorative tiles that have additional colored designs and compliment the rest of the tile and the surrounding area. The adhesives typically used to fix tiles to a surface are typically permanent, as is the grouting material used to fill the gaps between the tiles. As a result, decorative tiles cannot be quickly interchanged with other, different decorative tiles. Thus, one must carefully choose the pattern of tile that is to be installed.
It is not uncommon for people to change the decor in their living areas every so often, and such change usually results in a new color scheme. However, in living areas where a decorative, permanent tile installation exists, often the color scheme cannot be changed too drastically because the colors already included with the permanent tile cannot be easily changed. Moreover, people often add decorations for approaching holidays, such as Christmas, that may call for different colors than are found in the current decor. It would clearly be desirable for one to easily interchange a decorative tile for another, perhaps holiday-oriented decorative tile.
While there are several prior art devices that teach removable and interchangeable tile systems, such prior art devices do not lend themselves well to ceramic tiles for countertops and walls, or the like. Instead, such prior art devices disclose wall hanging decorations, ceiling acoustic tile hanging systems, and the like.
Clearly, then, there is a need for a decorative tile system that allows certain tiles to be interchanged with other tiles easily. Such a needed device would securely hold a removable tile in place unless the tile was purposefully removed. Further, such a system would be moisture resistant and relatively inexpensive to manufacture, install, and maintain. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.